


The Time It Takes to Get From Here to There

by Chash



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Minor Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Minor Raven Reyes/Roan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-09 01:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7781605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nate hasn't dated in a while, which is his excuse for being so awful at it. And his roommate is awful at it too, so it's not like he has a good role model or anything. That's why he's a failure. It's not his fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Time It Takes to Get From Here to There

**Author's Note:**

> Modified from an anon prompt on tumblr! "Can you do a modern AU where Miller and Bellamy both think Jasper is dating Monty/Clarke (respectively) Then when they talk about it they argue because they both think Jasper is dating their crush but they see they were mad at Jasper for no reason?<3" The main modification being Jasper switching to Raven, but also other things because I always like to make people even bigger disasters at social interaction. Write what you know.

If Nathan Miller had his way, he would never get another crush in his life.

He doesn't, broadly speaking, have anything against romance. He likes being in relationships. He enjoys intimacy and closeness, likes cuddling and sex and having someone to think of as _his_. If he could just always have a boyfriend, he'd be pretty happy.

It's the _feelings_ that get him. If there's one thing Nate hates, it's the long and painful process of meeting someone, and then falling for them, and then having to figure out if they're into guys generally, or him specifically, and if that's enough to make them both want to attempt to be in a relationship.

"Yeah," says Bellamy. "Meeting other people is the worst."

He makes it sound like sarcasm, but Nate knows Bellamy hates it as much as he does. "Because you _haven't_ been pining away for a girl who's taken for months," he shoots back.

"I've only been pining away for a girl who's taken for like a week," says Bellamy. "Before that I was pining for a girl I didn't know had a girlfriend. Totally different."

"My bad."

Bellamy sighs, leans back and closes his eyes. "So, tell me about the crush. You want to do my hair while you do it? It's getting pretty shaggy. I bet you could braid it."

"Just say you want to gossip," Nate says. "I'm not telling you shit unless you admit you care about my feelings."

"So much. Is he cute? Do you have pictures?"

"No, because I'm not a fucking creep." He sighs. "He's the new IT guy at work. He's really fucking cute. And smart too. I'm not bad with computers and he can run rings around me. I bet he runs Linux."

"Which I know you're into," Bellamy says. "Do you guys talk about video games?"

"Not yet, I'm building to it. So far we just talked about the DC and Marvel cinematic universes and how much we loved the new Ghostbusters."

"What's his name?"

"Monty."

"Have you considered just asking him out? I know it's extreme."

"Statistically speaking, odds were good Clarke was into guys, and you still didn't just ask her out, so don't act like you're so much better at this than I am. I haven't figured out a good way to work _Do you like dick?_ into conversation?"

"Ask if he'd rather eat a banana or an oyster."

"Perfect. You're really helping."

Bellamy shrugs one shoulder. "Sorry. You're right, feelings suck. What do you want me to say?"

"I really didn't want you to say anything. I don't know why I even brought it up."

He sighs. "Have I mentioned how stupid I am about this girl? Who has a fucking _girlfriend_ , so I'm going to hell. Jesus." He rubs his face. "Is this helping? I know you love laughing at my pain."

"It really is, thanks."

"She's bi, so my long-term plan is hoping she breaks up with her incredibly hot girlfriend, giving her a few months to rebound, and then asking her out."

"Because you're so good at asking her out."

"I never said it was a good plan." He gives Nate half a smile. "Sorry you caught feelings. That sucks, man."

Nate sighs, leans back and closes his eyes. "Yeah. It really does."

*

Nate hasn't had a boyfriend, in the proper, relationship sense, since college ended and he and Bryan realized they were going to different sides of the country. For the first year, it had been kind of novel; the two of them had been together for a while, and he had taken his time getting used to being single again.

And then he realized that, outside of an academic environment, he didn't really know _how_ to date. He doesn't like clubs, he doesn't have a huge friend group, and he's kind of an asshole. Bellamy is his best friend and roommate, and Bellamy is even worse with people than he is. His idea of being social is going to trivia night and arguing with the girl he has a thing for in the hopes that she won't notice he has a thing for her.

So, yeah. At twenty-five, Nate thinks he's actually _worse_ at dating than he was in high school.

And Monty Green is fucking cute.

He's in the break room playing Fire Emblem on his DS when he hears someone across from him, and he looks up to see Monty putting down a lunch bag with a grin.

"Hey, you mind if I sit here?"

"Nah, go ahead." He makes to close the DS, and Monty waves his hand.

"Don't stop on my account. I was going to play Hearthstone anyway. But if I do it across from you, I look like I have friends. Which is important to me."

"I didn't think people who played Hearthstone really valued looking like they had friends," he says, and Monty grins. Maybe Bellamy was right, and video games are the right tactic.

"Fair point. What are you playing?"

"Fire Emblem."

"Which one?"

"Conquest. I'm still trying to get into it."

"Oh, yeah," says Monty. He makes a face. "I don't know. I loved Awakening, but Birthright didn't really do much for me."

"Glad it's not just me." He wets his lips, because for once he actually has a great opening to talk about his sexuality, with a cute boy he likes. "I really wanted to get into it because I could finally marry a guy, but--I dunno. The characters aren't as fun."

"Right?" says Monty. "The same-sex marriage option is everything I've wanted since Raven and Lucius were best friends forever in the GBA one, and now I feel like it's a chore to play it. Which sucks."

It's not _I'm into guys_ , but it's at least _something_. It's definitely encouraging. "Yeah, exactly. I'm trying to power through. Just until I get married."

"What mode are you playing?"

"Casual hard," he says. "I tried classic, but I just reset anytime someone dies, so it seemed sort of pointless and I just restarted in casual."

"Hey, I play casual normal, so I'm not judging," says Monty. "I really just use it as a creepy eugenics simulator." Nate chokes on his drink, and Monty looks triumphant. "It is, right? That's how I felt playing Awakening. I was reading long discussions about how to make the most powerful children and suddenly realized what I was doing and felt bad about myself. But I wanted everyone to have Galeforce!"

Nate has to smile. "Yeah, that's how the Nazis got started too, I hear."

Monty laughs, which is a relief. Nazi jokes at work are pretty dicey, but Monty basically started this one. "Yeah, it's a slippery slope."

"What are you playing in Hearthstone?" he asks, and Monty ends up on a long rant about how much he hates C'Thun Warrior decks which carries them through to the end of Nate's lunch break.

"Oh," Monty says, looking a little upset when he says he has to go. "When's your lunch?"

"Whenever I want. I usually go one to one-thirty or so."

"I'll try to come then tomorrow," Monty says. "I got busy with some guy who couldn't figure out how to turn on his printer today, but I'm usually pretty flexible."

"Cool," says Nate. "See you tomorrow."

*

**Me** : How do I ask someone on a date?

**Bellamy** : http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Date

**Me** : [middle finger emoji]

*

He's still working on getting up the nerve to ask Monty out when he runs into him with his girlfriend.

Okay, so, it's not _completely certain_ that she's his girlfriend. But he's getting coffee after work and sees Monty laughing with the girl behind the counter, and even Nate has noticed that girl as being really fucking hot. And she and Monty are clearly very close. She's smiling at him, and Monty is grinning back, and they're leaning close together, like they're sharing a secret.

So Monty definitely has a crush, and probably has a girlfriend. From the way she was smiling back, it definitely looked like he has a girlfriend. Which is good. Nate is happy for him. Obviously.

He texts Bellamy, and they agree to go out and get drunk that night.

"What's the right casual way to ask someone if they're dating the incredibly hot barista who works in the basement?"

"Did you check wikihow?" Bellamy asks, and throws back a shot. "Fucked if I know, seriously. I still haven't gotten Clarke to verbally confirm that she's got a girlfriend."

"You guys are the most pathetic thing I've ever seen," says Gina. "You know what they say about assuming, right?"

"We're already asses," Bellamy points out. "So that ship has sailed."

"I can't believe I let you get away," she says, rolling her eyes. "You're such a catch. Miller, I thought you had some amount of common sense."

"He fools people into thinking that because he's so quiet. But he's actually as much of a disaster as everyone else."

"It's why we're friends," Nate adds.

Gina shakes her head. "Seriously, guys. Use your words."

"If we used our words, we wouldn't have to drink our pain away, and you'd lose all our tips," Bellamy points out. "You don't want us to get better at life."

"Yeah, you're right. I don't care about you as people, I just want tip money. Keep on being total failures."

"Don't worry," says Nate. "All over it."

*

Instead of talking to Monty, he ends up talking to the girl at the coffee shop on Monday. It's mostly by accident; he has a meeting and he's supposed to buy pastries, and she's the one who's behind the counter.

"How much should I get for an eight-person meeting, do you think?" he asks.

She is _gorgeous_ , flawless skin and tight ponytail, with a smile like a shark's. He gets the impression she could take him in a fight, just with sheer presence. "How much do you like the people?"

"I dunno, medium. Why?"

"So, you've got some options for meetings. If you like them, get a bunch of stuff so everyone has enough. If you hate them, don't get quite enough and let them fight for them."

Nate can't help a soft snort of amusement. "Do people do that a lot?"

"Usually asking how much you need is a sign you care," she says. "You need some next-level spite to be actively trying to fuck people over with your pastry choices. But you look like you might have that level of spite in your life. No offense."

Okay, so she's hot _and_ awesome. Good job, Monty. "None taken. You're not wrong generally, but this is just my department, and I actually like them. Mostly. I don't want to spite them yet."

"Cool. I'd go with like ten things then. Are you getting coffee?"

"Yeah. Can you just give me a random variety? I don't know how to pick."

"Sure, I've got you."

He wonders if there's a cool, casual way to bring up Monty, but he thinks it's not possible. He considers discretely texting Bellamy while the barista is getting his order together, but Bellamy is actually not a good resource for these things. Octavia would maybe be a better choice; she's like Bellamy, but better at flirting. 

But trying to explain what's happening to his roommate's sister via text so she can tell him how to ask a woman whose name he doesn't even if she's dating his coworker is really just too much. It's a step beyond _bad at life_.

Gina might be right; he is too incompetent for this. He doesn't deserve a boyfriend.

She rings him up, and he offers her a smile. It's not her fault he's a failure. "Thanks for the help. I might have to come back for the spite-order later."

"That's what my boyfriend does when he has to go to his mom's," says the barista, cheerful. "But that's just because he hates going to his mom's so much."

Nate's expression doesn't falter. Really, he should be grateful. She confirmed she's got a boyfriend without his having to do any stupid espionage. And she seems awesome, so--he's happy for them. Good job all around.

**Me** : Barista confirmed she has a boyfriend.

**Bellamy** : Gina's going to get so many tips, huh?

**Me** : Yeah, basically.

*

Bellamy's trivia team has a long and storied history, most of which Nate doesn't know about. Or, well, in theory he knows, but he doesn't care about the ins and outs of who does trivia with Bellamy. He knows Octavia and her boyfriend used to be on the team, and that Bellamy joined up because Octavia wanted him and Lincoln to spend more time together. Clarke got involved because she works with Lincoln, and then various people have come and gone since then. Octavia started working nights, Lincoln is helping out with the play, and there have probably been even more comings and goings that he hasn't followed at all. He knows Clarke's girlfriend started coming when Lincoln tagged out, but he doesn't really know anything about their fourth member, except that Bellamy exclusively refers to him as _fucking Murphy_.

So it's not that much of a surprise when Bellamy says, "Fucking Murphy bailed on us, can you come be our fourth for trivia?"

Nate's primary reason for not going to trivia previously was that Bellamy didn't want him to witness his utter failure to flirt with Clarke. Now that she's got a girlfriend, he probably won't mind having someone else around to remind him she's off-limits.

"You gonna buy my beer?"

"Just the first round. Teachers don't get paid shit."

"Deal," says Nate.

If he's honest, he's kind of curious to see Bellamy's crush. Like Nate himself, Bellamy tends to have trouble developing serious relationships; the only one Nate knows about is Gina, and they broke up in a fairly amicable way a few months before Nate and Bellamy even met. He's had hookups since then, but Clarke was the only person he'd ever expressed romantic interest in, and he dealt with it with all the grace of a cat thrown in a bathtub.

So, obviously, Nate is looking forward to meeting her.

"That's them at the back table," Bellamy says, and Nate frowns at the sight of the cute blonde girl, whom he knows is Clarke from Facebook, and Monty's girlfriend.

"Uh," says Nate. "Is that--her girlfriend? The hot latina?"

"Yeah. Raven. She's awesome," he says, grudging. "Which kind of makes it worse."

"She's not dating Clarke."

Bellamy frowns. "What?"

"She's dating Monty."

"She's--"

Clarke spots them, and Nate can see her light up as she waves to Bellamy, so bright it's like someone flipped a switch. He would bet _money_ she's single. She's definitely not dating Monty's girlfriend.

She definitely likes Bellamy too.

"Seriously," Nate says. "I'll prove it."

Bellamy still looks vaguely poleaxed, so Nate just leads him through the bar to the booth that Clarke and Raven have staked out. Clarke's sitting on the inside, so Nate shoves Bellamy onto the bench first and takes his own seat across Raven. She blinks at him.

"Why do I know you?"

"Coffee shop?" he offers, and she snaps her fingers.

"Right, that's it. You're Bellamy's roommate?"

"Yeah. You're Clarke's?" he asks, even though no one has ever told him as much.

"She was, until she decided to move in with her boyfriend," says Clarke, and Nate doesn't look at Bellamy with a profound effort. He should get an _award_ for not looking at Bellamy. He should get a pony.

"She left me to pay my rent all alone," says Clarke. She cocks her head at Bellamy, grinning. "You tell your roommate about me, huh?"

At least one of them is going to get a date soon. Even if Nate has to fake a text from Bellamy to get him to make a move.

"He loves hearing about all the pains in my ass," Bellamy says, apparently regaining his equilibrium.

"You mean the people who can kick your ass at trivia?" Clarke asks, and Raven rolls her eyes.

"So, they'll be going for a while," she says, and offers her hand. "Raven."

"Nate. Most people call me Miller. Nice to officially meet you."

"You too. How'd the pastries work out?"

"No bloodshed. Maybe next time. I'm lulling them into a false sense of security." Bellamy and Clarke seem to have stopped bickering for the moment, so he figures it's a good time to prove his point. "How's Monty?"

She frowns. "You know Monty?"

"He does IT at my company."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," Raven says, and looks him over like she's reassessing him through the filter of his career. "He's good. Likes the new job. Says his coworkers are cool."

"Awesome. I'm glad."

Bellamy bumps his shoulder. "Hey, we have like ten minutes to get drinks at the bar. I owe you a beer, right?"

"You owe me a lot of beers," he mutters, and Bellamy slings an arm around him as they walk. "She's so fucking into you, dumbass."

"Sorry," he says.

"Don't be. I love it when my life sucks more than yours. I'm going to milk it for years."

"Maybe they'll break up," he offers, and Nate just rolls his eyes.

It's mostly a comfort that Raven thinks the two of them are as ridiculous as he does, because they can exchange looks when Clarke and Bellamy are fucking _obvious_ , which is fun. And she is cool. And, really, it's nice to have to not worry about trying to make a move on Monty. It would be a pain. He's better off, if he's taken.

Really. He is.

*

"I went to trivia with your girlfriend the other night," he tells Monty on Monday, just in case Raven mentioned it and Monty is thinking it's weird he hasn't. They're eating lunch outside and monitoring to see if any good Pokemon show up they need to catch, and it's definitely good as a platonic activity.

Monty freezes in the middle of a bite of his sandwich, and then chews and swallows slowly. "Yeah?" he finally asks.

"Yeah. My roommate has a crush on her ex-roommate, I guess? He thought she was dating Raven so he was trying not to make a move and it was--kind of pathetic, honestly. My roommate is really bad at dating."

"Yeah, sounds like it." Monty taps his jaw. "So--my girlfriend is Raven, right? Not Clarke? And your roommate is Bellamy the hot trivia asshole? I'm just making sure I'm following of this."

"Hot trivia asshole is a good summary, yeah."

"Do you guys just assume anyone who interacts with Raven is dating her? That's the impression I'm getting." He nudges Nate's shoulder. "I'm single. Raven's boyfriend is named Roan. As far as I know you've never met him, but I guess if Bellamy the hot trivia asshole is your roommate, anything is possible. But--yeah. I'm not dating her, Clarke isn't dating her."

Nate's not sure how to respond to that, but apparently Monty has a plan. He pauses and then switches his phone from Pokemon Go to texts, and pulls up his history with Raven and passes it over for Nate to read.

**Raven** : Some guy you work with was at trivia   
I'm assuming the hot one  
Nate Miller?

**Me** : That's the hot one, yeah.  
Did he hit on you?

**Raven** : Nope, and he asked about you  
Ask him out  
Be inspired by Clarke finally getting her act together make your move  
I believe in you

Nate sort of stares for a minute, and then says, "You really shouldn't go out with me."

"No?"

"There's pretty clearly some kind of gas leak in my apartment. Me and Bellamy have something wrong with our brains. It's probably contagious. You should get out before we contaminate you."

Monty laughs at that, and Nate ducks his head so his smile won't be too obvious. "I hadn't thought of that."

"I'm just looking out for you."

"Thanks," he says, and then his hand is on Nate's jaw, tilting his head up so he can press his lips against Nate's, quick and soft, a question of a kiss.

When Nate smiles, Monty _grins_ back, and the second kiss is longer, surer.

"I'll risk it," he murmurs, and Nate pulls him back in.

*

"So, how many people am I dating?" Raven asks. They're all getting dinner, he assumes because everyone wants to laugh at him and Bellamy. As a group. "I'm having trouble keeping track. And seriously, I work at the coffee shop, I'm in grad school, I really don't have time for all these people. This is getting out of control."

"Three," says Clarke. "I think that's doable."

"You have Monday, Thursday, and Saturday free, right?" Monty adds. "So if Friday trivia with Clarke counts as a date with her, then you can date me on Thursdays, Roan on Saturdays, and then Monday is all yours."

"Oh, yeah, never mind," she says. "You're right. Sounds awesome. Definitely where I want to be with my life and relationships."

"We're very desirable," Clarke says. She's leaning into Bellamy's side, and Bellamy hasn't stopped smiling for days. It's honestly kind of alarming; Nate is going to have to break something he likes, just to get him back to an acceptable state of surliness. "Everyone is dating us or wants to be dating us."

"I don't want to date you," Nate points out. "Sorry. Not my type."

"I'm just saying, Raven could make this work, if she wanted to."

"Do I get a say in this?" Roan asks. He's--fine. He's not really Nate's type either, honestly, but at least he's the right gender. "I don't even know half their names."

"You know all the ones I'm supposed to be dating," Raven says. "Clarke and Monty."

"Oh, I was hoping for that one," he says, and winks at Bellamy. Which is at least enough to startle the sappy smile off his face, so Roan's now on Nate's good side. 

"Uh, spoken for?" Bellamy tries. "Flattered." He glances at Clarke. "Not currently angling for a foursome, right?"

"Not currently," she says, pressing her lips against his shoulder. Honestly, Nate should have gone to his stupid trivia thing sooner, because Clarke's thing for him is visible from space. "I'll keep you posted."

The conversation moves on, everyone getting distracted with getting to know each other, complaining about school and work, figuring out mutual acquaintances, and Nate realizes with some dismay that while he does have a boyfriend, he also has to deal with a significantly expanded social circle, and he's going to be expected to get to know _all of them_. It's so much new human contact, all at once.

And then Monty leans in and says, "You know, whatever you and Bellamy have, I'm pretty sure the rest of us already have it too. So there's really no point in trying to save myself," which is--well, it's a good point. And Monty is very warm and firm and likes to go off on long rants about the Hearthstone meta basically at the drop of a hat.

So he can put up with a few more friends. It's totally worth it.


End file.
